by A. Joseph
“I will follow them and kill the boy for good,” Paul said. He heard the boy will be brought to John.
“Do not think that you"ll get any support from the damned ones Paul. This day was the first and might be the last. The major archangels are no longer in this world achieving our primary goal and the pride of the damned ones will no longer allow them to fight together,” Isaac said.
Paul sensed the rest of the damned ones left at once after Peter died. It seems the power of Isaac can only force them for a short time.
“I believe you can take the matters at hand already. You might have failed before but since your granddaughter is no longer in this world, I believe you"ll succeed this time, am I right?” Isaac said looking at Paul.
“I will succeed Isaac, I do not need help from you or the other damned ones to finish the job,” Paul replied as he looks at the burned body of Peter and a gust of heat from his body blew the ashes away.
“Very well then!” Isaac said as he chanted a word and the blue fire consumed the burning cabin even the fires of Belzebur leaving only a flat ground of ashes. The whole place now looks like a vacant burnt spot in the forest.
“Do not worry by the way, if you fail I"ll just force another damned one to do the task until it is done, but do not think that you"ll have my mercy if you fail” Isaac said as he walks away to the woods followed by Rachel waving goodbye.
“You"ll have your day Isaac. I will kill the boy and then I will kill Seth and you! It"s time to go back to that place and build that army,” he said to himself walking away. “Once I have Inchora I"ll have all that I need to defeat all of you.”
CHAPTER 6
INCHORA
As William and John walked around the city they were greeted by the people. Both men and women, young and old are wearing the same kind of robes they are wearing. Although, the designs and colors vary, every dress still has the same abstract style.
“So you really are the ruler here?” William asked looking at his uncle.
“The term again is „guide",” John replied thanking another woman that gave them fruits from their basket.
“People here do not seem to care about the color of my eyes,” William said.
“All enlightened ones like Inchorans do not care about physical appearance. They care more about the feelings of people,” John said.
William saw a man was carrying several pieces of glass shards of different colors. “Do they all make those abstract glass pictures?” He asked.
“Yes! For that is how we get to know each other here. In time you"ll see it"s more than just a glass picture,” John said as he got an apple from a lady. “Do you like some apple?”
“Thanks” William replied. “Do you only eat fruits here?”
“So you noticed,” As John gave out a loud laugh. “We do not eat meat since the animals here drink from the sacred water. As you can see there is no smoke in any of the houses.”
“We do not cook food we only get fruits,” and John took a large bite on the apple.
William noticed that there is indeed no smoke coming out from the houses. The houses are all dome shaped with walls made of stones one of top of the other -like a small dome. The roofs are circular in shape and made of dried grass. The windows are the same abstract patterned glass work just like in his room. Most of the men carry shards of different colored glasses and some are even trading their shard of glasses with others. Some of the men are fixing their houses while the women are stitching up abstract colored robes and others are carrying baskets filled with fruits. The children are either with their mothers carrying small fruit baskets or with their fathers carrying colored glass shards or making the multicolored windows. Only a number of small kids are playing around.
“Where do you get these fruits?” William asked as he took a bite on the apple John gave him. “This is by far the best apple I have tasted in my life,” as he took another bite.
“In Eden or what you can call „field of life",” and John took another bite on his apple as well.
“Is that the „garden of Eden" in the bible?” William asked.
“Well it"s quite the same but it"s not the original. You might say a part of the original,” as John ate the last chunk of his apple.
“Why do you say only part of the original? Meaning Eden was really true?” William asked.
“The place like Eden was true and the one who made the Eden here actually patterned it to that place.” John said.
“Who made the Eden here? William asked surprised that the bible story was actually real.
“You"ll know her in time,” John smiled.
William noticed that they have walked quite a distance already. They are almost at the other end of the circular crystal clear lake he saw from John"s house. They are now beside the large tree he saw earlier and the tree is by far the largest that he has seen. The trunk is wide and the roots stretched far even in the very stone steps they are walking now.
The tree looks like a big coliseum as tall as a fifty story building with its branches covering almost part of the lake and the houses beside it. Looking at it from afar it looks like a big bonsai tree but as you go near it William realized its beauty is majestic and far more beautiful than any tree he had ever seen. It seems to be even glowing.
“What is that tree uncle?” William asked pointing to the large tree.
“That is Laurus or „the tree of wisdom" and that would be your school,” John said laughing at his surprised face.
“You"re kidding! Right?” William asked, looking at his uncle to see if he was joking.
“No I"m not! And we"ll go see your school later, but we must visit Eden first,” John said as he turned right following now a green stone path.
„This is a new path," William said to himself. They have been following a brown stone path earlier but now it"s green.
As the houses seem to decrease William started to see some lush greenery and at the end of the last house he saw the most wonderful fruit farm he had ever seen in his life. In every corner of the land you"ll see different fruit bearing trees and shrubs that the whole land looks like a green sky filled with multi-colored fruits that act like stars. The plants were not arrange in such a way that each row of the land would only have a specific type of fruit, rather you"ll see in every patch of land different fruit bearing plants of different colors.
Wherever you go you"ll see around you different fruits. From apples, oranges, grapes, mangoes and a lot of other fruits that William does not know of but he has seen them before already in Asia and Europe.
“What is this fruit Uncle?” William asked showing John a dark violet colored fruit.
“That is a Mangosteen,” John replied “it is usually found in Southeast Asia but you"ll find them also in other tropical regions,” he added.
“Does that mean all the fruits in the world are here?” William asked looking now at the various plants around him.
“Yes, you are correct,” John replied picking a green fruit as big as an orange.
“Why haven"t you served them to me earlier?” William asked as he gets a small yellow fruit as big as grapes on one tree and ate it.
“Well, you might find them strange and you might not eat them, and I don"t want to explain each fruit to you,” John said.
“Considering you"d have surely asked me about them at that time,” he continued laughing out loud. He is happy that somehow Inchora has helped William forget about the tragedy.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” William said throwing some of the yellow fruit he picked to John.
“Not a problem,” as John catches the yellow fruit and throws another fruit back at William. “Don"t worry you"ll have all the fruits here in our fruit basket tomorrow.”
William saw a lot of plants and fruits at Eden greater than what he has seen in his lifetime. The place was really like what the bible describes Eden after all. Every plant lives in harmony without competing with other plants. Every plant whether it is a tree, a vine, o
r a shrub had abundant fruits.
Even the grass grows well with all the other plants. All their leaves are bright green and there seems to be no dried leaves in any of them. They continued walking in what seemed to be an endless garden that William got full already eating different types of fruits. He decided to just look at them rather than eating every single type that he sees.
„I"ll get to eat all the fruits here tomorrow after all," William said to himself.
After some time the sky seems to get darker already and John bade him to follow him as they went out of the garden. The people are also gathering their final harvests preparing to leave Eden.
“Where are we going now?” William asked as he helped a little girl pick some more fruits before following John.
“It"s getting dark already so before we head home I think it would be nice for you to see a glimpse of your school,” John said giving him a big smile as if mocking him of the idea of going to school in a tree.
They went out of the garden and reached the brown stone pathway of the village. As they go nearer William can see that the large tree seems to get even bigger than he imagined. Reaching the foot of the tree, he saw the biggest tree he had ever seen in his life. The trunk is like a building and in each part of the tree are holes like windows and the reason it looked like it was glowing was because of the lights in every window. John then led him to the bottom of the tree like a hollow entrance naturally made by the roots of the tree. As his uncle led him inside he was stunned that it really was a school with stairs, rooms, students and teachers. Everything also seemed to be attached to the tree itself.
“Well this is you school” John said. “We call it Laurus, „the tree of knowledge."”
CHAPTER 7
ARDA
Paul has been walking for hours under the hot blazing sun it what seemed to be an endless stretch of barren land. It has been three days already since he left the river to follow the desert path and he is still far from his destination. Even in this heat not a single sweat has come out of his body. This heat is now his comfort and this barren land his home. In what seemed to be hours he finally saw the large rock standing tall and strong amidst the burning sun and sand.
As he reached the foot of the rock men in their clothing blending with the rocks and the land emerged to meet him. They knew Paul from the color of his eyes. They have heard stories about beings like him and they intend to keep him out of their home. One of them in disgust had the courage to leap towards Paul with spear at hand aimed at his chest but before the spear reached Paul he was burned instantly and was reduced to ashes leaving only the spear. Paul picked up the spear and threw it back at one of the men surrounding him taunting them to try again.
All of them held back for the stories they heard about the damned ones were true. The archdemon Hismael is now beside Paul freezing them in fear. The one who received the spear heard a call deep within the stones and he bowed down to Paul to apologize as the others followed.
Paul approached him and said, “I believe I"m allowed to enter now.” The man raising his head beckoned Paul to follow as the other men disappeared back to the rocks. Upon reaching the base of the large rock in what looked like to be the entrance forming a hollow part like a door. The man then pulled out under his shirt a bright crystal and inserted it into one of the holes in the rock. As he twisted the crystal, several runes lighted up in front of them and the man pressed the runes in proper order speaking in a language Paul understood.
„They always change the password," Paul said to himself as he unsummoned Hismael.
After pressing the last rune and speaking the last word the rock opened up like a crack in the earth and Paul saw a familiar sight. The place still looked the same as before. It has been years since this place became his home when he left Inchora. „Same as always," he said to himself.
Inside the rock the temperature drastically changed, this was the familiar humid environment where he healed his wounds and built his strength. It still looked majestic like a small village within the earth even if it hides the poverty and suffering of the people inside.
The people still look the same living in their small cave holes. Their dress are still the same clothing made from the skins of lizards that live in the desert allowing them to blend well with the rocks while protecting their skin from the heat of the sun. At the centre of the cave lies a vast circular space with the circular stone mosaic like water flowing and glowing. It was as beautiful as the first time he has seen it like a calm serene lake. The Aqua stones in the mosaic still keep the cave humid amid the extreme heat outside. It has been said the founder ensured these stone to last for centuries to keep the place liveable for the people living here – the Ardans. But it seems their population lessened compared to the last time he has been here.
ARDA
“What brings you back here?” asked an old man walking towards Paul.
“Fate, I guess,” Paul replied. “It has been ages Lunasul, great guide of the Ardans and master of souls,” he continued bowing his head.
„The young man before is now old and weak," Paul said to himself. Just like how he predicted.
“Spare me your respects. You may not have aged all these years Paul but your soul is now torn beyond repair,” Lunasul replied. “We live here in peace. There is no place for you here anymore.”
“That may be your opinion wise one, but I think your people have a different view,” Paul said looking at the people that gathered curious of his presence. He then addressed them with a loud voice that even those inside their caves came out.
“People of Arda! Long have you remained in this cave relying on the desert that with each passing day becomes a day nearer to your end. Would you just wait for your end?” As he looked at each of them. “Or would you rather join me and take Eden? For you are also sons and daughters of God who have every right to live in Eden!”
His voice echoed in every corner of the cave and the murmur of the Ardans confirmed their desires.
“We desire what you speak of!” A young man shouted among the crowd holding his mother who is already weary and weak.
“But to remain here is also a task equal and noble!” Lunasul shouted back.
“I believe you have foreseen this already wise one,” Paul said looking at Lunasul. “Not all guides remain on top forever,” he whispered in his ears.
He walked at the center and standing at the circular Aqua mosaic addressed again the crowd.
“People of Arda you have lived in darkness long enough, your skin has suffered much already from this heat. To those who wish to experience the life giving fruits of Eden and the cool air bliss of Inchora even for just a moment rather than continue to live in this place until your last breath, join me! And fight for a cause not only for yourselves but for the next generation, for your sons and daughters!”
Hands emerged from the crowd volunteering themselves as their cries of desire echoed inside the cave.
“What do you say now Lunasul?” Paul asked looking at him smirking.
“The Ardans have their freedom just like any person,” Lunasul replied. “For those who wish to join you the doors are open and if ever their hearts have longed for this home again the doors will still be open to welcome them again,” he continued.
Seeing his fellow Ardans like this left him with no other choice but to allow the damned one to stay.
“You are free to stay here for the people who joined your cause but leave at once after your preparations. Avoid any bloodshed and spare this place for we both know you could have destroyed us all already,” as Lunasul left in sorrows back to his cave.
„Don"t worry Lunasul, this place is already tainted," Paul said to himself.
And he ordered those who raised their hands to summon their soul companions as he summoned his archdemon Hismael. As the souls of the the Ardans emerged beside them they were filled with power from the archdemon and their soul companions glowed red as the archdemon fuelled their desire with wrath. They
followed Paul as he ordered them to start their preparations deep within Arda while the other Ardans went back to their caves hiding in fear.
CHAPTER 8
LAURUS
The image of Laurus and the rooms inside it together with the sights he has seen for the past days has helped remove his nightmares of the tragedy. When he wakes up in the morning he would immediately look at the window to see the large tree and the whole Inchora. It remains always a marvellous sight even in the distance with the different birds flying around the tree and the sparkling waters of the lake illuminating everything.
The tree brings a sense of fortitude to him to stay strong amidst his longing for his parents.
„Just like how it stood strong and have grown for centuries he will remain as strong, learn and grow well for his parents," he would say to himself whenever he sees Laurus.
The colorful patterns of the clothes that he wears now still bring the same uplifting feeling to him. He looks like the regular Inchorans now. His uncle would often say that he is a true Inchoran being a Travis. The water every morning shower was also as refreshing as his first day. Without the place, the food and the people he would never be able to overcome his sorrows.
„He would study well and achieve The God Wish," he promised himself – for his mom and dad… so that their sacrifice would not be in vain… so that they would be proud of him when they see each other someday.
“Good morning Uncle John,” William said.
He can see there are now more varieties of fruits than before in two fruit baskets instead of just one and John is already eating one of the strange fruits he does not know.
“Good morning William,” John replied. “Come have some breakfast with me,” throwing some apple to him.
“Why is it that such knowledge about divine beings are only known here and not in the visual world?” William asked catching the apple and sitting in front of John who is reading a thick book.
“To think that it is only studied here is wrong, because there are also six more enlightened cities and each enlightened city excels in one of the enlightened arts. Inchora is just the beginning for history and summoning,” John replied getting some grapes.
